County seeks to build on year’s economic successes

With all the industrial growth this year, will Cleveland County build on that success in 2013? And what aid and obstacles cover that path?

Matthew Tessnear / mtessnear@shelbystar.com

County economic experts point to 2012 as one of the best ever for job creation and capital investments.

Companies added jobs by the hundreds and others promised to pump nearly a billion total dollars into the county’s economy.

Baldor Electric kick-started the growth with a 166-job expansion plan in January. That was followed in February by AT&T’s announcement to invest $850 million and create 100 jobs in building a new data center in Kings Mountain. New and expanding projects followed throughout the year, with Schletter Inc. making the biggest jobs news of the year when it announced plans for 305 new positions at a solar panel-mounting systems manufacturing plant in west Shelby.

So with all the growth this year, will Cleveland County build on that success in 2013? And what aid and obstacles cover that path?

Economic experts offer their forecasts below.

What’s the local industry development outlook?

“I am very bullish on our prospects for the coming year. Our team, led by Kristin (Fletcher), has several projects in the pipeline and we are pursuing those very aggressively. With new leadership on the state level we will be building some new relationships, but the developers at the state level know and respect our abilities, so I think we will continue to have a positive response from the state.”

How will the regional economy impact the local economy?

“The Charlotte area has shown positive growth in the past couple years and is recognized as a growth center. I think this will continue in 2013 and companies looking to make new investments will continue to look at the Charlotte area as a possible location.”

How will the national economy impact the local economy?

“The national economy is the big question and will have a major impact on prospect activity. There is still uncertainty as to what Congress and the Obama administration will do to address the fiscal problems we have on a national level. I expect gridlock to continue and this will put a damper on investment activities. The business community is very uncomfortable about the inability of our national leaders to come together to solve problems.”

-- Michael Chrisawn, Cleveland County Chamber of Commerce president

What sectors will see growth moving into 2013?

“Most economists are predicting continued growth of existing industry and new expansion and plants in the manufacturing and knowledge-based sectors. The CCEDP believes that successful participation in this growth will create new jobs and expand the tax base.”

How will the county’s geographic location be a benefit?

“There is no doubt that Cleveland County benefits from its proximity to Charlotte and the airport, one of the major economic centers in the Southeast. I strongly believe that Cleveland County will begin benefitting from its position on I-85 and proximity to South Carolina’s automotive and technology corridor. We are going to strongly focus our efforts on recruiting and expanding the booming automotive component-manufacturing sector who would be well-positioned along that corridor in Cleveland County. We will continue to building our inventory of qualified industrial sites and buildings, and will promote Cleveland County’s attractive cost of living.”

How will corporate incentives reform affect development?

“There is a great deal of speculation, focus and discussion at the state level regarding corporate income tax reform and financial incentives. As we move forward in 2013, I am certain we will see changes at the state level, and I am fearful of the changes related to the existing financial incentives that we economic developers utilize when negotiating deals. It is imperative that our state officials be cognizant of the fact that while incentives cannot make a bad deal good, they are still a necessary evil, and we need them to remain competitive.”

“New industry recruitment activity remains high, but we’re seeing a slow down in existing industry expansion. We’ve a very strong couple of years of existing industry announcements, with 630 jobs announced in 2011-12. However, the last six months we’ve seen a slow down in new local expansion projects. This seems to be the norm across the Charlotte region and is not just specific to Cleveland County.”

Is there an economic niche the county is trying to fill?

“The Cleveland County industrial landscape looks much different than it did just 10 years ago. Whereas Cleveland County industry used to lean heavily toward textiles, we now have a very diversified manufacturing base with strong industry clusters in automotive, energy, data centers, aerospace and defense, consumer goods and textiles. Advanced manufacturing is strong in Cleveland County and we want to continue to attract these types of employers and jobs.”

“We’ve seen some small improvement in hiring, and we hope and expect that to continue. I do feel like we’ve seen more job-seekers in the office in the past few weeks. Hopefully that’s because they’re more hopeful to find work.”

Why are more job-seekers looking for assistance?

“I think the slight improvement in the economy is one thing that’s going to mean we see more job-seekers. The end in extended (unemployment) benefits will likely mean people seeking employment more aggressively, which they should have been doing all along.”